


A Devil's Rules

by ivanolix



Category: Battlestar Galactica (2003)
Genre: Banter, Canon - TV, Canon Het Relationship, F/M, Sports, Wordcount: 1.000-5.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-29
Updated: 2009-12-29
Packaged: 2017-10-20 21:43:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/217384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ivanolix/pseuds/ivanolix
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Understated strategy disguises itself in a Kara/Sam rematch of their first pyramid game</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Devil's Rules

>For one made of river silt, the first New Caprican pyramid court held a good game. Sam felt at home in the regulation dimensions, slipping and sliding and slamming his way around in search of the best shot.

The sand got in his shoes, and when Kara knocked him to the ground it got down his shirt as well. He tossed some over her shoulder to get her to blink reflexively, knocking the ball into the crook of his arm so he could whirl around and plunge it right down the basket—and followed it with a triumphant shout, of course.

He had the lead, barely, and he thought he was probably slightly better. Then she started talking and it was a neck-on-neck match as he had to listen just as much as she had to find words.

“Back when I was teaching basic flight,” Kara said, almost stepping on his toes to cross the court and skimming just short of slamming his chest sideways. “We had to work on reflexes under stress. I used to be on the pro track, so we went to the pyramid court in the gym.”

Sam’s brain lost track of the ball for half a second as he had to hunt frantically for the memory of her telling him about her past. He felt his balance leaning left, remembered her instructor story that involved Karl somehow, and leaned right back into her path to block her hips and sent her tumbling.

The ball flew free just long enough for her to roll up on her knees, shove back into his as he started diving for it, and grab the ball as they tried not to crash on top of each other. It was only half successful, but they popped back to their feet at the same time. “I always told them at the start that we weren’t playing pyramid,” Kara continued, breathless as she tried to shoot past him on the court, heading for the side shot. “But we used the same court, the same rules at the beginning, so they assumed. Then halfway through, out went the rules.”

Sam had her blocked in the free zone now, loose on his feet as he watched for her move. He hoped his mind was storing away this story, since he doubted there were many that Kara would tell.

“They always protested,” she said, watching him with brightness in her eyes as she tossed the ball back and forth in her hands. “Said I was cheating. Then I’d ask them which rules, and they’d remember that I said this wasn’t pyramid. The point of the game wasn’t who won, but who could think and strategize under pressure.”

Kara feinted left before darting under Sam’s attempt to knock the ball out of her grasp, diving beneath his arm to send a shot bouncing off the reverse shield. She grinned, as Sam had to stop short and spin on his feet, eyes still on hers as she tried to close the distance to the goal and still kept talking. “Plus, it was like a free-fire ticket on a Viper CAP to frak with their little minds.”

He crowded her, taking the moment to snark, “Sounds like you _were_ cheating and there weren’t any rules at all.”

She chuckled darkly. “In Kara-ball, the only rule is that every game goes different.”

Sam caught the amusement in her, danced his eyebrows with the look he knew she found hot, and batted the ball from her hand as she was caught slightly off guard. But she sprinted faster than him across the court, smacking his ass as she passed by to get him to look back, then slamming into his arm to send the ball flying.

Focusing his mind back on the game, only the game, he pinned her in the corner, both their chests heaving just a couple feet apart. She was good about not leading with her eyes and giving him split-second warning of where she was going—hell, she was good about everything, and it was a shame that she’d had to be dropped from the pros. He’d have lobbied for hiring her to the C-bucs in a heartbeat.

Then in less then a second she had tucked herself in and rolled past him, popping to her side to give him an illegal kick to the back of the legs. Sam’s instinct after he realized that he was falling was to wait for the referee’s whistle. It didn’t come. Of course it didn’t.

He hit the ground flat on his back with a grunt, and Kara whipped by above his head to send her ball flying through the basket with satisfaction that he thought no cheater should have.

“Hey—foul,” he said, coughing to catch his quick breath as he jumped to his feet, shaking his shoulders free of more of the river sand.

She looked dangerous as she still held the ball, wicked smile all over her face. “I asked if you wanted to play, I didn’t say we’d be playing pyramid.”

Sam wasn’t slow, and he raised his index finger to point in her direction. “Kara—”

She chortled, and tossed her ball up in the air to catch it again with a smirk.

“Fine, you’re right,” he admitted, tossing his arms out as he walked forward before daring, “But you have to resort to Kara-ball to win?”

“Just testing your reflexes, Sammy,” she countered sweetly.

He couldn’t help but smile a little and lean into her space, waiting for her to turn her chin up with a cheeky demand for a kiss to solidify that she’d bested him. Just an inch away from giving in, he stepped between her legs, kissing her hard enough to knock her backwards and send her arms flailing. Unable to keep from grinning, he dipped, grabbed her by the waist, and swung her up and over his shoulder.

“Sam!”

He stooped to grab the ball, ignoring as she punched his back, and strolled up to the goal to plop the ball in neatly. Then, disregarding her kick to his thigh, he picked up the ball again and threw it into the opposite goal. Sam stood for a moment, and rarely had victory been quite so sweet, so smugly sweet.

He swung Kara off his shoulder and back to her feet, and said, with a serious tone as he saw the outrage on her face, “I think I like Kara-ball.”


End file.
